San Jose calls off a popular July 4 fireworks show for safety concerns

There will be one fewer place for San Jose fireworks fans to see the rockets red glare on July this year as the city has canceled the annual event held at Almaden Lake Park And it seems this is partly a circumstance of an event being called off because of its own success San Jose City Councilmember George Casey broadcasted the cancellation in an email to his district this week saying that with more than people attending last year it has outgrown the park as a venue A fire broke out at last year s ninth annual show in the foothills just east of Almaden Lake and firefighters had to contend with the crowds leaving the show just before p m Community safety agencies had a hard time responding to calls for provision due to the traffic congestion and indiscriminately parked cars There are no fiscally responsible options to mitigate the safety concerns this year Casey wrote adding that his office would work to find a more suitable venue There was a proposal to move the show to the Santa Clara County Fairgrounds but that s also not happening Casey explained If you re longing to see selected pyrotechnic bursts in the area there are still a meager options The city s show at Lake Cunningham Regional Park will return for its second year The San Jose Giants also will have a fireworks show sponsored by the Rotary Club of San Jose following its July meeting non-ticketholders will be able to watch the fireworks from Alma Avenue and Senter Road And California s Great America is bringing back its Independence Day fireworks show Star-Spangled Nights It s long been inferred that having large professional fireworks displays discourages people from lighting off illegal fireworks in their neighborhoods But anyone watching the skies and listening on July and the days around it for the past inadequate years would likely disagree Last year Sunnyvale debuted a drone show for July but this year s stated plans only have a daytime festival on Murphy Avenue JAZZY SUNDAY San Jose City Councilman Michael Mulcahy is the honorary host of Jazz in Bloom a benefit event for San Jose Jazz s Jazz Aid Fund being hosted Sunday at the Rose Garden home of Gordon Biersch co-founder Dan Gordon and his wife Melissa In addition to bringing in donations to advocacy struggling musicians the event will also honor Henry Schiro who was San Jose Jazz s executive director from to and was Mulcahy s stepfather The p m event includes performances by the Ryan Trujillo Latin Jazz Quartet and the SJZ High-School All-Stars as well as food provided by San Jose restaurant Mezcal wine by Gilroy s Kirigin Cellars and I m guessing specific pretty good beer from San Jose Tickets are available at www sanjosejazz org MUSICAL CHANGE Los Gatos native Ren Geisick s second full-length album The Place I Planned to Go is being circulated on streaming services June and it may come as a bit of a surprise to listeners more familiar with her early work Geisick started out as more of a jazz songstress but her sound has been moving toward Americana Country and she says this album is really a full embrace of that change Related Articles Guys stroll Santana Row in heels for YWCA s Walk a Mile in Their Shoes From festivals to protests it s going to be a full weekend in San Jose San Jose s Below Theaters makes a big bet on big-screen entertainment Hotel De Anza s iconic neon sign will glow again after restoration East San Jose to get a real taste of Viva CalleSJ this weekend The original songs hit on themes of heartache outlaws and mercy These songs all reflect the elements of hope and fear that run deep in the life of a musician and run right alongside the day-to-day life struggles that we all face Geisick stated Hey if going country works for Beyonce why not Ren To celebrate the album s release she ll be performing with her full band at the the Art Boutiki Music Hall on Race Street in San Jose at p m June You can get more information and tickets at artboutiki com NICKO CHEF NICKO Pruneyard Cinemas brought in a ringer for this past Monday s presentation of the James Bond thriller Thunderball as part of its very popular Culinary Cinema series Chef Nicko Moulinos from the hot downtown San Jose restaurant Eos Nyx was the curator of the three-course menu prepared by head chef Trevor Hansen that included crab cakes jerk-marinated chicken thigh with coconut rice and a slice of cheesecake topped with tamarind almonds and mint You can check out the rest of this summer s Culinary Cinema offerings at www pruneyardcinemas com culinarycinema ONE MORE TIME My apologies to anyone who demonstrated up at Open San Jose this past Tuesday hoping to catch Home Is Where the Art Is the art show featuring work by residents at HomeFirst s housing centers The showcase which was originally delayed from last Saturday because of the No Kings rallies was moved to Thursday July All the details including the correct date are at www homefirstscc org home-is-where-the-art-is